Now, that a White House spokesman has rebuffed a letter from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and 10 other Democratic senators for a presidential decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline by the end of May, Landrieu has said she's going to hold a hearing by her Senate Energy Committee and consider legislation to force the president's hand.

In the letter, Landrieu and the other Democratic senators said:

"We cannot miss another construction season, given the long cold winter this year along the Keystone XL route and the time required for ground thaw, we could be looking at a very short season. We need a definitive timeline laid out, a timeline that reduces the comment period for federal agencies, officials and other entities. ... The time to act is now, Mr. President."

Jay Carney, President Barack Obama's spokesman, reacted coolly to the letter from Landrieu and the other Democratic senators, including Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

"Our position on that process hasn't changed, which is that it needs to run its appropriate course without interference from the White House or Congress," said Carney, alluding to a requirement that Secretary of State John Kerry first determine if the project is in the national interest. "It was because of actions taken by Republicans in Congress that one delay was caused in the process already. So that review continues at the State Department where it's housed in accordance with past practice of previous administrations of both parties. And when there's a decision to be announced, it will be announced."

Other than a sympathetic phone call from Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, Reps. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, hasn't gotten much support over the last difficult week from fellow Louisiana delegation members -- all of whom, save for Richmond, are fellow Republicans. McAllister missed all four days of House votes through Thursday, with his staffers saying he' with his family in Louisiana trying to make amends after release of a surveillance video Monday showing him kissing a married staffer. McAllister is a married father of five. He's apologized, and asked for privacy for him and his family.

One possible explanation for the lack of House GOP support may be that he hasn't developed much of a relationship with his Louisiana Republican colleagues. Staffers say that McAllister arrived in Washington after his November victory in the 5th Congressional District with a chip on his shoulder. He was smarting, the staffers said, not so much because all five Louisiana House Republicans endorsed McAllister's opponent, State Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, but because they didn't speak out when the Riser campaign ran negative ads McAllister considered unfair.

In an interview last month, McAllister also took a shot at the partisanship on Capitol Hill and said he still supports the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which is opposed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and all Louisiana House Republicans.

Still, none of the Louisiana House members has gone as far as Gov. Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere, both of whom called on McAllister to resign.

Cassidy responds to Democratic attacks for budget votes

Louisiana Democrats are hammering Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, for voting again Thursday for a Republican Study Committee budget that would slowly raise the Social Security full retirement age from 66 to 70. The higher retirement age would not apply to people over age 55 and would be raised in increments for those under 55 two months per year, beginning in 2024. Both the RSC budget, which failed, and the Paul Ryan budget, which passed with only Republican support, including Cassidy's, would change Medicare's guaranteed benefit to a "premium support" system that would provide seniors with money to purchase private insurance.

"Bill Cassidy has cast himself as the opponent of seniors in this election, and his agenda to raise the retirement age to 70, end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher program and force seniors to pay thousands more, while awarding tax breaks to billionaires, would have disastrous consequences for seniors in Louisiana," said Campaign for Louisiana's Andrew Zucker. The campaign is a Democratic group supporting the re-election of Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La.

Cassidy, Landrieu's leading Republican opponent, said people are living longer and staying healthy longer, justifying an eventual increase in the full Social Security retirement age. Congress and the president need to act, Cassidy said, if current beneficiaries are going to collect their full Social Security benefits.

The Medicare changes, Cassidy said, would improve health care and keep the Medicare program from going bankrupt. He rejects Democratic arguments that the premium support won't be enough for many older people to purchase insurance.

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie is pushing for private insurance alternatives to the National Flood Insurance program. So are some officials in Florida, and members of Congress.

But the American Insurance Association says passage of legislation last month blocking many of the premium increases under the 2012 Biggert-Waters law makes that much less likely.

"The renewal of subsidies for National Flood Insurance Program premiums makes it difficult for the private sector to compete," said Jim Whittle, assistant general counsel and chief claims counsel for American Insurance Association.

Laura Cassidy: What 'our opponents don't want you to know' about Bill

In an email message to supporters, Laura Cassidy, wife of Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, the leading GOP Senate candidate, suggests her husband isn't getting all the credit he deserves for combating large flood insurance premium increases resulting from the 2012 Biggert Waters law.

"Our opponents don't want you to know that Bill was the first person to ring the alert about flood insurance," Mrs. Cassidy wrote in her email. "Over a year ago, he formed the Home Protection Caucus and started building a coalition to fight for affordable and accessible flood insurance. Then the very first legislative victory on flood insurance was the passage of the so-called "Cassidy Amendment" in June of last year."

Cassidy is right about her husband's role in creating the caucus, and helping push through the June, 2013, amendment and rework of a Senate-passed bill to avert many of the increases. That bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 21.

But there's little doubt that Landrieu offered up the first warnings that the Biggert-Waters bill, added to an omnibus bill, would pose problems.

She did so the day the Senate passed the Biggert-Waters egislation with yes votes from every member of the Louisiana delegation. At the time, Landrieu said she voted for the bill because it contained the delegation's top legislative priority - the Restore Act that could send potentially billions of dollars in BP fines to Louisiana for coastal restoration.

"I am certain we will be back here within the year, after the elections--regardless of who wins and who loses--fixing some provisions that should have been fixed, but because there is not going to be a debate on the Senate floor will not be," Landrieu said at the time. She was the only Louisiana member to raise such concerns during debate on the bill, which passed both the House and Senate by overwhelming margins, with the votes of every Louisiana member, including from Landrieu and Cassidy.

Landrieu also worked with Democrats in the House to insure that the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, championed by Cassidy, was amended to include some additional affordability provisions.